Quebec duo shocked by reaction to Palin prank
By Daniel at 2 November, 2008, 11:29 pm
THE CANADIAN PRESS
MONTREAL – The Quebec comedians responsible for pranking Sarah Palin are getting the star treatment from the international media.
The duo known as “The Masked Avengers” was being courted by U.S. news networks Sunday after their prank call to the Republican vice-presidential nominee took the Internet by storm.
The Avengers – Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel – managed to get Palin on the phone, conning her into thinking she was speaking with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
“We’re flying to New York in a couple of hours to do the CBS morning show – oh, my God,” a breathless Audette said Sunday.
The two say they’re surprised at the impact of the gag, which has garnered global headlines after it surfaced almost instantly on blogs and websites around the world.
“We’re doing it for fun – as comedians, that’s our job,” Audette said.
“We had no idea it would have such a big impact in the United States and the rest of the world. It’s the same in France and Britain – it’s everywhere.”
The Canadian-made prank has provided a fitting exclamation point for a U.S. campaign that has been inextricably linked with – and endlessly satirized by – the American comedy circuit.
Following in Palin’s own footsteps, Republican presidential candidate John McCain poked fun at himself over the weekend during a highly anticipated guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
While poking fun at the president is nothing new, the controversy and unwitting comedy provided over the last eight years by the Bush administration has raised it to a new level, said Henry Jacek, a politics professor at McMaster University in Hamilton.
“People simply don’t respect the current president, coupled with the fact (many entertainers) disagree with the substance of his policies,” Jacek said.
A win by Democrat nominee and apparent front-runner Barack Obama may bring to an end the ongoing laughing spree, he added.
“We’ll see what the comedians do now (that) they will probably no longer have Palin and McCain to kick around.”
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